"The USA and the European Union have cancelled their mediation in negotiations on the election reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina as the leading political parties in the country are not ready for a consensus and the political crisis has deepened due to secessionist plans by the Serb entity government," Croatia's state agency Hina said on Thursday.

A joint statement by the US Embassy and the Delegation of the EU in Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed on Wednesday that their mediators Matthew Palmer and Angelina Eichhorst had given up on an earlier plan to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina as they estimate that no progress in talks on changes to the election law can be expected in the current situation.

“Leaders have not done the work necessary to bring the BiH political system in line with EU regulations and court rulings. Apart from that, following the unacceptable further escalation by the RSNA (Republika Srpska National Assembly) on 10 December, the political crisis is deepening,” the statement says, stressing that renewed efforts to mediate now, before the end of the year, would be futile.

“We have heard commitments from the ruling coalition on constitutional and electoral reforms that can achieve parliamentary support. Equally important in moving BiH forward are reforms to make elections more secure, trustworthy and to create a government in the Federation of BiH that functions.”

The Federation entity government, which should be formed based on the results of elections held back in 2018, has not been formed yet because the Bosnian Croat HDZ BiH party has been blocking the process in an attempt to make the Bosniak Party of Democratic Action (SDA) make concessions regarding changes to the election law.

“We urge the parties to back down from maximalist proposals, which are not supported by international and EU standards and lack support within parliament or society. Democracy is neither about perpetual stalemates to force through one’s demands nor about imposing the will of the majority. We also urge the RS representatives to fully return to the institutions,” the statement says.

“The EU and the U.S. have invested in a dialogue that recognizes the concerns and interests from all sides. This process is an opportunity to deal with discrimination, dysfunctionality and election fraud…

“Parties know what is needed to take aim at the root causes of chronic political crisis in BiH – corruption, lack of trust and low democratic standards. It’s up to the them to step up and come to the table ready to take action. We therefore call on all sides to engage and contribute in this process in a meaningful way, in the interest of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” reads the joint statement of the US Embassy and the EU Delegation.